Homecoming
by Sami-Fire
Summary: Gilbert and Ludwig reminisce about the day of the Reunification of Germany and about what came after it.
1. Chapter 1: I'm Home, West

Author's Notes:

Another set of in-character monologues, this time to commemorate the nineteenth anniversary of the Reunification of Germany. I wasn't sure whether to do it from Gilbert's or Ludwig's point of view, so I took a third option and made it into a double feature. Enjoy, and please review!

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Nineteen years ago today, I came home.

All the paperwork had been signed, so the higher-ups said that I was free to go, and that they'd be moving all my stuff into West's house. I was this close to singing a Hallelujah chorus when they broke the news! I was FREE again! I grabbed up just about everything I could fit into a backpack and ran to West Berlin as fast as humanly possible. Like hell I was gonna stick around and say "bye" to Ivan! I'd seen _enough_ of that freak's face over the past several decades, thank you very much. I might've stuck around a little longer if I could've said goodbye to the Baltics, though. Poor guys.

Anyway, I knew that West would be happy to see me. As I ran, I kept imagining his reaction. He'd be all over me! He'd shower me with love and questions and demand to hear about the trials and tribulations of the great Gilbert Beilschmidt under the oppressive Soviet fists! He'd marvel at how I had endured so well in such terrifying situations! He'd praise my strength, my resourcefulness, my _chutzpah_!

I didn't get what I expected. No, I'd say I got something much, much better.

I knocked on West's door so many times that I think the next knock would have broken it down. When he opened the door, he stared at me for a long time, like he had to convince himself that I was actually there. Next thing I know, his arms are around me and he's laughing, laughing, laughing, just like I do.

You know, my brother will deny it, but he's got a great laugh. It's deep. It's loud. It's a strong laugh, sometimes so strong it even leaves an echo behind. He doesn't do it very often, so I know he's truly happy when he does. And when he laughs, I laugh too, because I'm happy when he's happy. That's what happened back then- he laughed, I laughed, and we shared an old-fashioned bro-hug for a good few minutes.

He pulled away for a moment, and I saw that he was crying, too- tears of joy, of course. And dammit, even thought I tried my best to keep my cool, one stupid little tear just had to roll down my face and call all its buddies to come with it. Our little emotional laugh-crying session continued for some time, but West eventually regained his composure. He said to me, "I missed you." And you know what I said to him back? "I missed you too, West."

And I did. I mean, sure, I could handle Ivan's little tasks just fine all by myself, but I'm not gonna lie- I missed having my little brother around. Even when he was all grown up, I was just about always by his side or easily contactable, so I did get kinda worried about what was going to happen when he was completely on his own and I was cut off from him. But he handled himself well, so it looks like I had no reason to worry! Then again, it would have been nice to give him a more consistent stream of updates about my condition under Ivan's control. I'm pretty sure that that vodka-drunk freak trashed 90% of my letters, but that's beside the point. Again, I wasn't lonely at all, but having little brother West around would have been nice every once in a while. You know, just as a kind of pick-me-up.

Moving into West's house was kind of stressful at first. In that first month or two, we must have had a record amount of fights over what stuff would go where. And even once that was all taken care of, we'd have arguments about this or that stupid little rule. Sometimes the arguments would get a little more heated than usual, like that one time when I insisted that it was, in fact, perfectly acceptable for me to hoard the ice cream for a bit, even though a whole bunch of it had just ended up splattered all over the computer. It was kind of a stupid thing to get into a shouting match over, but that's just what happened. Even today, big arguments still break out over little things. But then again, who doesn't have those kinds of arguments every once in a while?

Remember when I said that my brother didn't laugh all that much? Well, that was kind of a lie. There's plenty of laughter in our house. Sure, we have our rough days, but again, who doesn't? We generally get along pretty well. I tease him, he teases me, we laugh at each other and go back to what we were doing before until someone comes up with another brilliant idea. And when one of us is feeling down in the dumps, the other's always around to lend a helping hand. It happens to me a little more than I'd like to admit, but West always pulls me back up on my feet, even if he's a little shy about it. When he gets stressed out, I cool him off. We're a good pair of brothers, I'd say. No, make that an _awesome_ pair of brothers!

Speaking of de-stressing, I've decided that tonight is party night! It's an important anniversary, so why not party hard to celebrate? On this day, nineteen years ago, I was FREE after decades of suffering! Oh, sure, West'll complain about the sheer amount of beer at first for about five minutes, but then he'll be drinking it down like nobody's business. And you oughtta SEE what happens when he gets drunk! It's hilarious! I know he wants to celebrate the anniversary of my return, too, even if it's probably not for the same reason that I want to. Maybe he can even bring his little Italian friend over just to shake things up. We're gonna eat, drink, and be merry, and I'm not gonna let anyone stop us from doing it. And next year, for the 20th anniversary, I'm going to throw an even BIGGER party, whether West likes it or not!

It's been nineteen years, and I can still say, "It's AWESOME to be home again."


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome Home, Gilbert

Nineteen years ago today, my brother came home.

On the day of the Reunification, I sat at home and waited for Gilbert. At that moment, more than ever before, I felt the impact of his absence. Without him, the house was completely quiet. At first, I enjoyed how quiet and peaceful everything was, with nothing to disturb the order (aside from Italy's occasional interruptions, but that's another story entirely). And yet, things very quickly became… well, boring. The emptiness of the house seemed thick, somehow. Perhaps it could even be called suffocating. I did my best to hold my feelings down and prevent them from getting in the way of my duties, but even that became difficult after some time.

As time went on, it became increasingly difficult to deny that I missed my brother. He had been a constant in my life for centuries. When something that you expect to be there is taken away from you, it goes without saying that your normal routines will take some time to adjust to the change. Not hearing my brother's voice for all that time… it's a strange analogy to make, but his voice was the kind of voice that seemed to take up actual space in a person's life. Even on his more annoying days, he was something to look forward to. His absence created a kind of void.

When I opened the door for Gilbert, all my restraints just broke. I couldn't hold back all those emotions- the joy, the relief, even a little worry about his condition. He looked a little thinner than when he had left me so many years before, and I knew that he had been mistreated under Ivan's control. He didn't seem very healthy at all when he came back. He was a little lethargic, and I don't even I've ever seen such dark circles under his eyes. The thought of my strong brother being beaten down to that extent only increased how glad I was to see him back home, where he would be safe and I could bring his strength back up. I gave up on holding back and broke down in front of him. I was laughing, I was crying… I was a little embarrassed, but I knew that Gilbert saw nothing wrong with it.

Despite the initial irritation of having to rearrange things for his arrival and having to get used to his antics all over again, it wasn't long before things were back like they were before. No matter what I tell myself, I am definitely happy that my older brother is home again. We're two sides of the same coin. Whatever one lacks, the other provides. With or without the occasional fights, I'm very, very glad to have him by my side again.

Gilbert has roped me into a "celebration" tonight. Ordinarily, I'd tell him to not be so quick about taking out the beer, but I think tonight is a good night to relax. It's a Saturday after all, and I don't have work tomorrow, so I don't see why I can't knock back a few and just let go for tonight. Besides, I'm always never that much more worse for wear after my brother makes me loosen up. I think I can set my work aside for a little while.

It's been nineteen years, and I can still say, "Welcome home, Gilbert."


End file.
